Hypnotic Secrets Revealed

January 11, 2010

By Anonymous

Hypnosis is the magical power that makes your victim do anything you want… or not. On November 16th, Psych Club received a presentation from hypnotist Paul Knight about the mystery of hypnosis. Appearing for the second time for Psych Club, Paul Knight is not a stranger to our Wisconsin high school. He has appeared at the Senior Party for a number of years, putting on a show of hypnosis. At the presentation, he explained about the two kinds of hypnosis: the kind for entertainment, and the kind for treatment. Hypnosis is usually seen as making some one act like a chicken or seeing the crowd in their underwear. This type of hypnosis is for entertainment. The other kind of hypnosis is for therapy, helping patients overcome bad habits. The hypnotist puts in a suggestion, such as a cigarette tastes like vomit, and the patient gets that feeling when the cigarette goes in their mouth. Abby, a senior who attended the presentation, received a better understanding from his presentation. She said, “He did a good job relating hypnosis to us. He said that the conscience is the tip of the iceberg, while the unconscious is the rest of the iceberg. With hypnosis, the iceberg is out of the water.” Jennife, a Psychology teacher, was impressed by the speaker. “He volunteers his time to present at schools about the truth about hypnosis. He also explained the training and history of hypnosis, as well as how it affects you biologically.” He treated the group with demonstrations. Abby was one of the few who were hypnotized. “It was my first time hypnotized,” she said. “One of the things he had us do was say that we couldn’t open our eyes. It was frustrating cause it felt like my eyes were rolled into the back of my head, and I couldn’t get them open.” The students had fun at the presentation, but also learned more about hypnosis. Junior Hanna, one of the bystanders at the presentations, said, “He dispelled the misconceptions about hypnosis,” she said. “I also learned about the medical and therapy properties of it.”

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